"Angel Has Fallen" Movie Review

Secret Service Agent Mike Banning has quite literally seen it all. He's rescued the President from a terrorist attack, he's saved several world leaders from being assassinated, and now he has to save the one person he didn't expect to ever need saving: himself. In the vein of 24, Angel Has Fallen is grittier, and far more intense than the previous entries. After a while, though, I couldn't help but wonder - how much can one man go through? Mike Banning is no Jack Bauer by any means, but it's still obvious that everything he's been through is taking its toll on him both mentally and physically.

The film follows Banning, who is the President's top "Guardian Angel", aka head of security. After a drone attack leaves Banning's entire team dead and the President in a coma, evidence begins to mount which implicates Banning as the mastermind behind the attack. Now, on the run from his own government, Banning has to find proof of who the real mastermind is in order to clear his name and stop the assassin from finishing the job.

While the third (and hopefully final) installment in the Fallen franchise had its predictable moments, and sketchy CGI in one scene, the film still ended the trilogy on a high note. Instead of being presented as yet another typical action flick with the usual formula, Angel gives us a story that puts our hero in dire need of medical help before the action even begins. There's real consequences to his choices and actions that could very well mean life or death.

The predictability lies with discovering who the villains were. It's pretty easy to figure out within the first few minutes. The twist however, is who the mastermind was. I thought I knew, but I was way off.

Gerard Butler has really grown into the action hero role. He had made a few action movies in the beginning of his career, but was more well-known for romantic dramas and comedies. 300 may have been his breakout action role, but it wasn't until Gamer that people began seeing the brute within him. If anything, he's consistent with his action scenes, but I have to give him applause for really digging deep and putting forth more effort than usual for Angel. As usual, he and Morgan Freeman have that wonderful chemistry that keeps them coming back for these films.

The writing was much improved in this film. The plot was more grounded and, although some parts were still a bit surreal, the film seemed far more plausible than previous entry London, and matched up with Olympus, possibly even surpassing it.

In conclusion, everyone's going to feel differently about it. I always look forward to Gerard Butler's films as they're often more entertainment value than serious. Angel, however, actually does hit that serious mark and ends the series with a high note. I give the film a 3 out of 4.